New to Linux

I am planning to completely overhaul my system before the start of next semester. I would like to install a version or two of Linux when I do. I am curious what versions correspond best to the test and also to real life use.

I appreciate any help.

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Comments

michaelkahl

Comptia tries to keep it distribution neutral, but this isn't easy. Here's a quick and simple run down for you. Red Hat and Debian are two major, and older distributions. Red Hat relies on the Red Hat Package Manager or RPM to keep track of software dependencies and installations. Debian does not use this package manager. There are also some other difference, but fundamentally Linux is Linux. Unfortunately Compita has to keep it nuetral, but needs a standard. Honestly Red Hat and Red Hat based distributions tend to line up best with the test. So here are some Red Hat based distributions of Linux.
Fedora Core
CentOS
I would say of the two, CentOS will be more relevant to studying for the exam, but Fedora will be almost as good.

My next suggestion would be Ubuntu. While this is Debian based, it has a great community that is quick to respond to any problems that you may run into. I personally used Ubuntu for 6 months and simply studied the differences and researched what would be different. I didn't think that it was that much.

Fedora and Ubuntu are definitely more workstation based (for use on your personal computer) while CentOS seems to be more server oriented.
If this is a spare machine for studying go with CentOS, otherwise take a look at Fedora and Ubuntu. I personally prefer Ubuntu for day-to-day business and for ease of setup.
Here are some links, check them out. And if you are wondering which version to download for you PC, try to stick with 32-bit. Usually they are marked as a i386 download or i686 download.
Good luck and I hope that this post helps.
www.ubuntu.com
www.ubuntuforums.org
http://fedoraproject.org/
http://www.centos.org/

TravR1

Everyone has their own preferences. I like OpenSUSE, and I'd recommend it to anyone just starting out. However, every distribution is going to be a lot like the others. The differences in the different Linux flavors aren't going to be too extreme.

dynamik

OpenSUSE is a nice distro as well. Check out www.distrowatch.com for more info on various distros.

You're definitely going to want to go with CentOS or Fedora as your primary distro because you need to be fairly familiar with RPM. You should try a CentOS server install with no GUI

Also, consider virtualization. Depending on your specs, you can probably get a few distros going simultaneously. I actually run Vista and Mint (check it out if you like Ubuntu) simultaneously.

michaelkahl

dynamik wrote:

You're definitely going to want to go with CentOS or Fedora as your primary distro because you need to be fairly familiar with RPM. You should try a CentOS server install with no GUI

What he said about NO GUI. This is important for the exam, don't be used to using a graphical interface. Be more familiar with the command line, it will serve you well.

Deedo

Thanks for the help. Sounds like CentOS is what I want for this machine and then Fedora or Debian for the kids once I'm up and running.

I understand about not running with the GUI. I figured the command line options would be really similar between the different distros.

Daniel333

The linux+ is laughably dated. When the current test hit back in 2004 (http://certification.comptia.org/linux/about.aspx) they based their exam after dated Linux distributions from an era where RedHat was the undisputed Linux leader in the Enterprise envionment.

A buddy of mine who is doing the Lin+ is using CentOS 2 which is probably as close to the exam as you are gonna get.

Flipping through the Linux+ often leads me to believe their exam is designed specifically to get your foot in the door for the Red Hat Certified Technician.

michaelkahl

It would make sense if the directed it as a preparation cert for RHCE.

UnixGuy

I don't think the distro really matters if you're new to Linux. Get any distro and start learning from books and/or CBTs.

Ubuntu is user friendly, you can start with it. If you have RHCE in your mind then start with Red Hat.

Distro won't make much difference for you right now

disi

I am totally confused as well, because I use Gentoo since about 6 years now. The last time I used RedHat is a good while back.
However my exam is tomorrow and I used the Linux+ password from 2007 as study guide. Hopefully the command, aliases and scripts used there are the right ones.

In the end I would say it is just learning a different set of commands to do the stuff.

p.s. please punish me if I am totally wrong

agallant

I would study on Red Hat and SUSE seeing as those are the two distros you will run in to in the enterprise.

disi

Nearly all the questions were neutral to the distribution (find, grep, ssh, last, logrotate).
About 4-5 questions about rpm package manager.
All is multiple choice, in some questions you have to tick 2 answers but they tell you in the question how many answers they expect.

//edit: and why wouldn't I use RedHat or Suse? Too much GUI, managers, assistants etc. Every time I look into CentOS or Suse I have to disable a lot of stuff to get to the commandline.

blackegg

I really enjoy PCLinuxOS. Very user friendly for Linux. You can burn an ISO and check it out on a live CD.